Source: Bravewords.comTuomas Holopainen – the keyboardist and main songwriter of NIGHTWISH – spent most of 2013 writing and producing his solo album. The whole album will be based on a graphic novel called The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck, written and illustrated by Don Rosa.

The Life And Times Of Scrooge album and the first single, ‘A Lifetime Of Adventure’, can now be pre-ordered via Mad Supply here.

‘A Lifetime Of Adventure’ features vocals by Johanna Kurkela and will be released on the February 7th. Exclusive signed copies are available.

The Life And Times Of Scrooge album will be released on April 11th and features the cover and booklet as designed by the one and only Don Rosa.

Nuclear Blast Records have announced that, Tuomas Holopainen – the keyboardist and main songwriter of NIGHTWISH – has spent most of the year 2013 writing and producing his solo album. The whole album will be based on a graphic novel called »The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck«, written and illustrated by Don Rosa.

Tuomas Holopainen comments: “This is my longtime dream come true, 14 years in the making. And a homage to one of the best storytellers of our time. Thank you for sharing this celebration of Life & Adventure!”

This 12 – chapter book tells the life story of a certain Scrooge, from his early years in the 19th century Scotland to his adventures all around the world until the 1950`s. The story contains such immense depth, detail, wit and emotional power, that the moment Tuomas read it nearly 20 years ago, it instantly became a story of profound personal interest and love for him. The initial spark of `coloring` this story with music, i.e. create a kind of “soundtrack” for the book, came to him already in 1999, and has ever since been haunting the back of his mind.

The album was written and produced by Tuomas Holopainen and will contain 10 songs, with total duration of approximately 60 minutes. The music will be of soundtrack / classical / folk genre in the vein of Vaughan Williams, Michael Nyman, James Newton Howard and Enya.

There will be a number of guest musicians, including the London Orchestra, The Metro Voices (a choir from London) and four lead vocalists: Alan Reid, Johanna Kurkela, Johanna Iivanainen & Tony Kakko. Other guest appearances include Troy Donockley (uilleann pipes, low whistles, bodhran), Mikko Iivanainen (guitars & banjo), Teho Majamäki (Didgeridoo), Jon Burr (Harmonica) and Dermot Crehan in the solo violin.
The recordings took place during August – October 2013, first at Angel Studios, London, then in various locations around Scotland and Finland.

The author of the book, Don Rosa, has done the artwork for the album.

There will also be a single release, from the track ‘A Lifetime Of Adventure’, and a music video to go with it in early 2014. The album »The Life And Times Of Scrooge« is scheduled for a release in april 2014.

Tuomas Holopainen, keyboardist and main songwriter of the Finnish symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH, has issued the following update:

“It was back in 1999, during the ‘Oceanborn’ tour, that I remember first having the idea of writing a ‘soundtrack’ to my all-time favorite piece of Disney comic, ‘The Life And Times Of Scrooge McDuck’, by Don Rosa, the apparent heir of the almighty Carl Barks. This book has had such an overwhelming effect on me throughout these years, and finally I have the means and the time to make that dream a reality.

“It all started with a story called ‘Last Sled To Dawson’, which was published in a Finnish Donald Duck magazine in the late ’80s. It instantly became one of my favorite Scrooge/Donald stories and also introduced Mr. Don Rosa to my Disney universe. This story is not part of the actual ‘Life And Times’ opus, though, but ‘a companion story,’ set in between the chapters #8 and #9. Then when the massive 12-chapter piece was released in mid-’90s, I was completely and utterly hooked. It was similar to reading ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ as an 8-year-old, or seeing ‘Raiders Of The Lost Ark’ for the first time. Adventure, fun and the strangely familiar feeling of home.

“With Scrooge, there was also a much deeper level hidden between the stories and the gags.

“This is a book about life itself. What an unfathomable privilege it is, what are the things that truly matter during our existence. It’s about the immense beauty of the world and its possibilities seen through the eyes of a very relentless, honest and complex character. It’s about love and family, gain and loss, darkness and rebirth.

“And on top of that, well, it’s just your good old-fashioned storytelling fun!

“I have been twiddling around with certain themes for some months now and have an idea for five songs, but I will start working on this project 24/7 after the Australian leg of the tour, in February 2013. The demo recordings are scheduled for May 2013, just before the festival season starts and we’re off with NIGHTWISH again. The actual recordings then start in August-September and should be finished by the end of the year, making a release during the first half of 2014 a possibility.

“Mr. Pip Williams has agreed to do the orchestral and choral arrangements and we will use pretty much the same London session musicians as we did on ‘Imaginaerum’. Troy Donockley will bring Scrooge‘s Scottish origins to life with his pipes and whistles, and there will also be a few more guest musicians and singers involved.

“This journey is very, very dear and personal to me and I’m honored to have Mr. Rosa‘s approval on the project. It’ll be a beautiful storytime, once again!”